Bainbridge's Helpline Serving Record Number of Clients

Bainbridge Island Helpline House client Jim David of Bainbridge Island, right, packs up his groceries with help from volunteer Matha Dunn of Bainbridge Island. Helpline " Means everything to me, it's the best food bank I've ever been to, and the people are very nice," David said.
(LARRY STEAGALL | KITSAP SUN)

Bainbridge Island Helpline House client Jim David of Bainbridge Island, left, packs up his groceries with help from volunteer Matha Dunn of Bainbridge Island. Helpline " Means everything to me, it's the best food bank I've ever been to, and the people are very nice," David said.
(LARRY STEAGALL | KITSAP SUN)

Helpline House client Jim David of Bainbridge Island goes over a list of items he can get at the food bank.
LARRY STEAGALL | KITSAP SUN

Helpline House client Jim David of Bainbridge Island goes over his shopping list. David comes in every-week.
(LARRY STEAGALL | KITSAP SUN)

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND

It's a bittersweet birthday for Helpline House.

This year marks the food bank and social service organization's 40th anniversary and a record number of people served.

Helpline has seen a 60 percent increase this year in the number of new households coming in for canned foods, frozen meat and fresh vegetables.

Almost 740 people flooded Helpline's food bank last month, topping November 2007's draw by more than 100.

"Its been busy around here," Tews said. "And we anticipate it'll get even busier. The bar has been raised."

Helpline typically serves elderly people on fixed incomes, the disabled, the homeless and the unemployed. But recently, the agency has seen an influx of professionals, small business owners and other people who were employed until the nation's recent spate of downsizings, bankruptcies and layoffs.

"A real estate agent came into here recently," said Murray Prins, Helpline's social work supervisor. "I think that's a first."

The collapse of the housing market has had a big impact on Bainbridge, where much of the economy and tax base depends on building and selling homes.

"We had a house finisher in here the other day," Tews said. "His boss told him six homes they were building were called off. He had no clue when he'd have another work order."

Service industry workers, including chefs and landscapers, also have been hit hard as islanders narrow their budgets.

And some island business owners offering luxury goods have begun turning to Helpline to help them meet their families basic needs.

Divorces, which are often rooted in financial strain, have spurred some single moms to seek assistance at Helpline, Tews said. Many have not worked in years and need help updating their resumes or brushing up their job skills. Most have assets left over from their marriages that prevent them from qualifying for government help.

Judi Grimes is one Helpline client who found many state and federal assistance programs closed to her.

"I've been denied food stamps," she said as she loaded Helpline groceries into her car. "So, this is very important. I wouldn't eat otherwise."

Several island churches have approached Helpline about aiding parishioners who are suddenly in need but are too proud to ask for a handout.

To make it easier, Helpline plans to establish a satellite office in downtown Winslow next month.

Windermere Real Estate is vacating its office on Winslow Way and has offered it to Helpline until the lease expires at the end of January.

The new office, which will likely be open two days a week, will offer home-foreclosure and employment assistance for residents who would otherwise avoid a visit to Helplines main office.

"it'll be fairly informal," Tews said. "It's just there to let people know the kinds of resources that are available."

The downtown office will stretch Helpline's staff and resources during a time when the organization is already facing its busiest period ever.

Demand for Helpline's services is up 38 percent from last year.

But stretching and growing is something Helpline has done successfully for 40 years.

Helpline began in the living room of Corrine Berg in 1968. Berg, who had spent years organizing communities to fight poverty in inner-city Chicago, was serving as a church organist on Bainbridge when she noticed some of her fellow parishioners were in need.

Berg, along with women from her church ad other congregations, began collecting and soliciting food donations. They called their organization Fishline, after a similar church-affiliated organization in England.

Island attorney Jean Sherrard was quoted in Helpline's 25th anniversary newsletter as saying he was impressed enough with Berg's gumption to lend a hand, but admitted he didn't think her group of busybody church ladies would have a lasting impact.

"I was asked to help with legal problems and was glad to do so," Sherrard said in 1993. "I thought (Berg) was talking about a good idea. I respected her and wanted to be helpful, but frankly I thought it might turnout to be something hokey, and in the long run, wouldn't amount to much. Now, or course, I marvel at what has been accomplished with Mrs. Bergs idea."

By 1973, the group had secured an office and was offering mental health assistance, an emergency transportation program, medical equipment loans and a large food bank.

A part-time psychiatric social worker, a crisis intervention service and the organization's new name, Helpline, were added by 1975.

By 1979, Helpline's budget and client list had more than doubled from its 1973 levels.

Helpline's services continued to grow, with family counseling, career assistance, a legal clinic, a clothes bank and vocational assistance for people with developmental disabilities added in the 1980s and '90s.

Today, Helpline boasts a roster of more than 100 volunteers who assist more than 2,100 people each month.

One service that Helpline provides is never mentioned on its annual reports. Clients call it the Helpline welcome.

"When you open the door here, you get a greeting and a big smile," said Michelle Lyons, a Port Orchard care provider who drives clients to Helpline and other food banks in Kitsap County. "At the other food banks, you get no welcome and you feel almost embarrassed that you're there. That's never been the case here."

While many food banks resemble a warehouse, Helpline has the feel of a home stocked with an inordinate amount of canned goods. Many clients hang out and chat with friends on Helpline's front porch or read the paper at a coffee table inside.

Joseph Cates said food is secondary to the sense of belonging he receives at Helpline.

"The bottom line is it gives me a social outlet," he said while hauling a friend's groceries to her station wagon. "It gives me a place to go where I don't have to pretend I'm someone else."

Terry Autem sat under a tree with a cup of free coffee in hand.

"If a job don't show up, this is a place I can sit down for a while," he said.

Food banks across the nation have fought a battle of increased demand and shrinking donations. But Bainbridge, Tews said, has risen to the occasion.

Despite the record numbers of clients, recent food drives connected with the Thanksgiving holiday have bolstered Helpline's supply.

Tews expects Christmas season giving will get the food bank through December. After that, Tews said, support tends to dwindle.

The months after Christmas tend to be especially hard for clients, who typically face expensive heating bills.

"We don't want them to have to chose between heating their home or spending money on food," Tews said.

Helpline is also planning to double its food-purchasing program to fill needs unmet by donations.

Tews is counting on islanders to throw open their cupboards and pocketbooks, as they have done for Helpline these last four decades.

"It may be that I'll start biting my nails in the coming months," she said. "But whenever we had a big need, we seen the island step forward."